Hey everyone- this is my first post on here. I've been power kiting for years, and kiteboarding the last few. I had a difficult time learning to kiteboard, and saw tremendous improvements when I purchased a Spleene door 159. I've been kiting exclusively with that board for the last two years and doing well with it, but I'm having trouble transitioning to a smaller board. I have a Slingshot Ignition 142 (or 144 I can't remember), and when I try to ride it, it just feels slippery and unstable under foot. I can get up on plane, but am not able to stay upwind at all.

Here's a video of me riding my door, so you can get a sense of my riding style, body position, etc.

Does anyone have any tips on what I could do to get more comfortable on my smaller board?

You're putting your weight pretty equally on your feet it looks like. Also that board is sitting really deep in the water, you are going to need a lot more power when transitioning to a smaller (regular) board. Run a 2m bigger kite than you think you need and put all your weight on your back foot. Nice video editing BTW, I like all the different shots and angles, that takes a lot of work.

Agree, your problem might be power...but also practice makes perfect. The thing about kiting is that some things seem really difficult at first, after a couple of weeks of practice you wonder how you ever didn't know how to do it. Riding a really small board is one of those things, but again, small boards = big kites or lots of power.

I have learned on 135 and only own a 135 so can't help that much on big board feel.
More power is easier to figure out issue because with more power if you can t hold edge and go upwind it means bad edging technique then you get pulled downwind with body upright.
I think feet weight is good since whole edge seems to be engaged, if anything more front foot, as a beginner it's easier to ride with all weight in back but then you don't engage board edge and drag a lot of water.
you need to take your weight off the board and lean in your harness so the lines hold your weight instead of board.
You flatten board to get some speed and once you plane you lean back and keep kite high so it holds your weight.
just play around with laying down until you hit water with shoulder (not ass) also give some back foot pressure from time doing some big S to understand how to turn without breaking with back foot pressure
If you do those small exercise it will help you figure it out what the right stance is. It will help you to jump too.
When I first got up on the board I would always feel unstable and feel like I will fall down forward because I was upright and not trusting kite to hold my weight, once you lean back it becomes very stable especially in glassy water like that!

I imagine with big board you can go upwind thanks to fins and board doesn't drag as much.

You're on a door + 17m kite and look barely powered and going quite slow so I'm guessing that when you are transitioning to a smaller board you just need more kite and to get used to going faster. You can't go that slow on a regular board.

Wow- thanks for all the responses everyone! I see a theme developing that I might need more power. That's something I've been wondering about. I'm a little on the cautious side, and tend to go out in lighter winds (8-15) more than 15-20. I'll try to keep that in mind and reach for that Slingshot board the next time I'm really powered up.

For the record, in the video I'm riding a Slingshot Turbine 17m with winds about 8-12mph, which is pretty typical for my summer sessions lately.

@Bushflyr thanks for the kudos on the video! I really enjoy trying to make stuff that other people can enjoy too

If you want to get more comfortable with the power, just practice going faster. As you go faster it will start to feel like the kite is pulling harder and you will have to edge properly to deal with it. If you are starting to jump, you are ready to ride in more than 8-12 mph wind, that is barely even kiteboarding

It's a matter of basic physics...
You're fine
For your weight (78 kg +/- 2?), and light winds do not use a smaller board.
It just won't work (you will not have fun).
The board is far more significant than the kite size, especially the width.
Under your regular light wind conditions, I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than a 44cm width board.
If you have a >=44cm board, you could even try a 15m kite instead of a 17m and see if your fun factor increases.